Substitute House Bill 2470 (H-3294.1), 69th Legislature, 2026 Regular Session, amends RCW 28A.525.166 to change how state funding assistance is computed and administered for school plant projects. Under the bill the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) makes state allocations and reviews and approves district-determined total project costs. The state funding percentage is computed by a formula based on a district’s adjusted valuation per pupil relative to the state; if the computed percentage is below 20% and the district is otherwise eligible, the superintendent may set the assistance percentage up to 20% to provide minimum facilities. An enrollment growth add-on increases the percentage by 1% for each percent of average growth over the past three years, up to 20%. Students who live outside the district but are enrolled in alternative learning experience (ALE) courses are excluded from pupil counts for the funding calculation unless the district submits an alternative OSPI‑approved calculation. Approved project cost multiplied by the state funding percentage yields the state assistance amount. The bill adds a detailed discretionary list of emergency or special-burden circumstances in which the superintendent may allow additional state assistance. It creates specific provisions for instructional facilities located on military bases: such on‑base instructional facilities must be excluded from a district’s inventory of available instructional space when determining eligibility, and the computed state funding percentage must be increased by an additional 15% for any project located on a military base. OSPI must adopt rules defining the terms "regular basis" and "reasonable duration" as used for the ALE alternative calculation, and districts must use OSPI’s form if submitting an alternative calculation. This is an amendment to existing law (modifies RCW 28A.525.166) affecting allocation and procedural rules for school construction funding. It is a finance and procedural change, not a criminal or penalty change. The exact mathematical presentation of the funding formula in subsection (2) is not legible in the provided text, and a block of text referencing prior biennium adjustments and other percentage factors is present but its current legal effect is unclear from these extracts.

If enacted, the bill makes the state superintendent in charge of deciding how much state money a school district gets for building or renovating schools, and it creates a way for districts with schools on military bases to receive more aid: on-base instructional space is ignored when checking if a district needs help, and any project on a military base gets an extra 15 percentage points added to the computed state funding share. Districts with sustained enrollment growth can also get extra aid (one percent more for each percent average growth over three years, up to 20%), and the superintendent can set a minimum assistance level up to 20% if a district would otherwise get less. Practically, school boards must still calculate and submit total project costs and could see larger state contributions if their work is on a base or they’ve had recent growth, which can lower local borrowing or levy needs. The superintendent and OSPI gain new review, approval, and rulemaking duties (including defining terms for excluding certain alternative learning experience students and approving an alternate calculation form). The exact dollar impacts and how the formula will play out are unclear here because the bill’s detailed formula and some referenced provisions are not legible in the provided text.